This site is dedicated to new ideas and concepts with regard to Sirius XM Satellite Radio. New technology, marketing ideas, and strategic partnerships are fair game. This site is for brainstorming and I welcome all new ideas.DISCLOSURE: I own shares of Sirius XM Satellite Radio.

10.12.2008

Sirius has a great product with exclusive content. If a consumer is not exposed to the content, they generally do not know what they are missing. There are also a large number of former subscribers that let their subscriptions lapse. Similar to cable TV, give them a free-preview week or weekend to see what they are missing.

Former listeners can get a taste of Stern, NFL, NHL, College Football, MLB, NASCAR, Oprah, Eminem, Martha Stewart, or the numerous radio channels. With all of the content, you are bound to get some listeners to come back on board. Offer them a 25% discount to re-sign with the company. It does not cost the company anything more, since the customer already has the radio.

This also gives you the opportunity to promote the Best of Sirius and Best of XM packages. Existing subscribers can give these new channels a test run before subscribing. It helps to promote the new services a bit more than telling people to sign up for them. This is important because many Sirius subscribers have never been XM subscribers and vice verse.

This same approach can also be used for Ala-Carte subscribers. If you allow them to preview the channels that they are not receiving, there is a good chance that they will add a few. They may even add some premium packages. Even if they only add a channel or two, it still adds to the bottom line.

Free previews certainly help the company to promote the product to those that no longer listen and to those that may not have been fully exposed to the complete Sirius XM experience. If you do this 4 times a year, you could add new money to each financial quarter.

10.11.2008

As the number of manufacturers including Sirius XM in their products increase, Sirius needs a way to let consumers know that their product is involved. Consumers looking for the product will appreciate the ease by which they can quickly identify that Sirius is paired with this device.

Think of this as the "Intel Inside" advertising model. I can look at my laptop and tell that it has an Intel chip and MS Vista. When shopping for it, I didn't have to look too hard to determine which computer I wanted. Sirius can include a logo decal for each device that contains Sirius. When you look at the product, you can determine within seconds that it either does or does not have Sirius.

For larger ticket items, like cars, trucks, or SUVs (I know, but gas prices are coming down), you could put a decal on the window if it is a standard feature. This helps a car buyer identify a feature on the car. Anything that can sell a car is a plus in this tough market. Commercials could show a little icon in the corner.

Product branding is important, especially when other manufacturers are creating their own devices. Anything that helps the consumer buy Sirius can make the sale much easier. You wouldn't want the consumer to get confused and accidentally buy some crappy HD Radio.

10.08.2008

Searching Google for new stories about Sirius, I came across a story about getting better reception of Sirius in the dorms. It took me back to my college days and the new technologies that we were exposed to. I got to thinking about taking Sirius XM to campus.

Sirius should consider invading major college campuses on a few different levels. Sirius should work out a deal with the university to bring satrad to campus. They could put a repeater at each major university. Kids from all over the country would love being able to hear sports and other programming that may not be present in their local markets. They could listen to the other college football games. They could listen to all forms of music without being tied down to local programming. Sirius could also give local college radio some time on the air on a weekly basis. USC radio one week, PSU the next week, LSU another week......

Once you have an agreement in place with the university, offer college kids programming at a discounted rate through the school. Offer a yearly subscription that is only renewable through the school and possibly included in their tuition. Bring a Sirius tour bus with Howard Stern and O&A to promote the service.

College is a place of higher learning, but often is a new environment which does not offer all the comforts of home. With the number of students attending school at any given time, Sirius could quickly expand its user base and expose itself to the ingenuity that college inspires.

10.02.2008

Now that Sirius has rolled out the "Best Of Sirius/XM" packages and is on the verge of starting the first ever ala-carte packages, they need to start thinking more about marketing. I know that there is going to be some sort of advertising campaign (I hope!), but how do we get new subscribers and expand their services once they are on board?

The holidays are coming up and people get into that spending mood. That mood may be somewhat tempered with the state of the economy. How do you get people to buy a service? Let's start with a "but one, get one free" radio program for new subscriptions. People love thinking they are getting something for nothing. Give them a radio for free when they purchase a radio and sign up for a 2 year plan. Sirius can them offer a 1 year ala-carte plan for $84 to go on the new radio. This would make a great holiday gift.

How about volume subscriptions? Buy a bundle of say 5 radios with ala-carte subscriptions at a discounted rate. A one-stop shopping experience this year.

Once you get them in the door with a subscription, how do you sell them on more services? How about free preview weekends, similar to what the cable companies do? Offer the Best Of Sirius/XM packages for a free weekend every 6 months. Get consumers checking out the additional offerings. Once they know what they are getting, it becomes easier to sell them on the product.

Customer happiness and retention must be key. Signing up for these services should be very simple. Add the new "Best Of" packages with existing subscriptions to customer's existing bill without any renewals or penalties. If they prepaid, ask them to prepay the $4/month for the remainder of their term up front. If they are monthly, add the $4 charge to their bill and leave it at that. When customers feel that it is too much of a hassle to add the service, they will avoid it.